Still Ending and Beginning Still
by ArcherGirl224
Summary: Everything in Cass and Jason's life is still ending and beginning still. But their encounters determine Cass to help bring Jason out of his darkness and into her light. Can she start a new beginning with the broken Boy Wonder?
1. Chapter 1

"You're suspended. You are no longer Batgirl, pack your things and evict the cave." Batman said. The words rang through her ears, like a brick slamming into her, compressing the air from her chest. Her name was Cassandra Cain. And she was Batgirl. Until Batman pulled this little stunt of throwing her off.

"No." Her voice cracked. Cass would've listened to Bruce under any circumstance, that was a given. But she was damn sure going to fight this one.

"Excuse me?" The dark knight asked. She met his gaze. The bat-glare didn't affect her, not even a slight hesitation in her body.

"I said, _no_." The girl was testing her luck at this point, but she kept roaring, throwing her own glare back at him, "You have messed up many times before this. Nightwing left, you fired Stephanie, Oracle is in a wheelchair, Robin and you have had _how many_ ups and downs over the years? These are all your faults and you and I both know it, whether you choose to admit it or not."

Batman grinded his teeth in a menacing way, but it didn't faze her, "I know I have messed up, but you have errors in your life too. I let you in because I saw _potential_. I saw the difference in you. You could walk away from that life, that life of corruption. I thought you could obey the set rules and help salvage this city from the hell it's in, but you denied direct orders. You let the criminal get away, and got yourself in the line of fire."

Very rarely did she argue, but Bruce was simply baiting her at this point, "_The_ criminal? You say that phrase too leisurely. Have you forgotten that the 'criminal' was _Jason Todd_? He was your son. You have simply turned your back on him. He isn't just a criminal Batman,"

"Yes he is Cassandra. He is a merciless killer. He seeks _vengeance _and that's _it_." Bruce's words hung coldly in the air.

She turned away from him. She couldn't stand to look at him, but if she could, he would've seen the hurt that reflected widely in her chocolate brown eyes. They shined glassily, her thoughts catching up to her.

"Perhaps, but you claim him as _merciless_. If this were true then why didn't he even attempt to kill me? Red Hood let me live, yet he doesn't know me. He only saw my face when my mask was blown off in the explosion. Even then, he protected me from the blast," She said, her eyes shooting daggers at him, "That isn't exactly merciless."

Bruce looked to the display case that had Jason's Robin costume in it, "He lured you into a trap. That building was rigged to go off. He's merely trying to keep your attention. _That's_ what killers do. _That's_ why he saved you. You'll be another pawn in his game. Or maybe it was basic interest. Either way you cut it, he is a criminal. Nothing more."

Cass stood leaning on the computer table. She still had her suit on, but her cowl was sitting on the table next to her. Her short black hair was framing her face in an almost… dark manner. He anger seemed as if it was seething off of her. She picked up her cowl, tinkering with it, tracing over the stitches of the mouth piece with her index finger.

"No. You're wrong. He's not just a criminal. He's just broken, left alone in his own personal crucible. And you offered a hand to help him out of the water but he couldn't reach it. So, what, you gave up? You just drew your hand back because it got too hard to help him?" She barked at him, "Jason Todd saved my life. Now I'm going to save his. So change the locks, it wouldn't be the first time you've done that. I don't work for you anymore. As Batgirl or not, I'll bring him back from his crucible." And with that, she threw her mask onto the table, turning out of the cave.


	2. Chapter 2

In Gotham, all you could expect is rain. Rain cascading from the sky, hammering into the city like bullets. So Cass wasn't surprised when it was pouring when she got off the bus at her stop.

"Where are you hiding…?" She asked to no one in particular. She glanced around the buildings that surrounded her, most of which were sprayed with graffiti. She walked along stone-cracked sidewalk, searching for a decent vantage point. The sketchy part of Gotham she was in was relatively close to Crime Alley, and was the heart of illegal drug circulations. If she were an anti-hero vigilante, this would be the part of the city she would set up shop in.

Considering he _is_ a vigilante, he would want a place in the east end; it was the more elevated part of this side of town. It gave fair coverage of the horizon. Perfect for scoping illegal activities out.

She made her way to the east, but on the way she stumbled into a truck-stop style diner. Cassandra glanced at her reflection in the window. It mirrored her, showing her how much she's changed. From that little girl committing crimes, to _this_. She glanced her body up and down. Her short black hair was hanging loosely, framing her face, giving her more facial dimensions, yet her eyes lost all innocence (though she doubted there was any purity there) because they looked more stone-like.

She ditched the suit as soon as she left the cave, leaving it in Oracle's house with a note. Now she just wore a white tank top, a pair of black jeans that were slimming, and a pair of black and white Converse style tennis shoes. But her outfit was complimented by her brown jacket. She found it in Stephanie's room a few months ago. Cassandra spent a lot of her time sneaking into the Brown residence and surrounding herself with her friend's stuff. Even if Steph was gone. She found the jacket and it had simply stirred up memories of Stephanie's recklessness, that she had _actually_ taken it.

"Help!" A scream shifted into the air. She turned to see a girl getting pulled into an alley in the distance. _I'll have to be nostalgic later, _she thought. Cass shuffled through the street to the alley where the girl was taken. She rushed in only to see the scene unfold before her. The girl, she was maybe fifteen or sixteen, dressed in a light cherry camisole and jean shorts, stood on the opposite side, practically frozen. Although Cass couldn't blame her.

In the center of the alley a guy was slamming his fists into her potential attacker. Even in the dim light Cass could see the blood coming out of the attacker's nose, and the blood on the hand of the person punching him. _Oh God…_ she thought. The girl ran out of the alley after the shock left her body, but Cass still stood there, letting it soak in. _Red Hood_. Was this really that easy? Did she really find him without even the slightest effort? She could worry about the coincidences later. She didn't need any pondering or emotions clouding her judgments.

Jason stood up getting off the guy, but as soon as he turned to see Cass he was taken aback.

The reunion was broken by the previous attacker moving, lunging at Jason with his knife. In a swift movement, almost out of instinct, Cass grabbed Jason by the collar of his shirt and switched places with him, before kicking the knife out of the thug's hand. She turned and gave a roundhouse kick to the guy's chin, knocking him out.

"C'mon. You look like you could use a bite to eat," Jason proposed, gesturing to her with a head nod. She looked down to her body again. She _did_ look pretty small… and she _was_ hungry. When was the last time she ate? She couldn't even remember.

"Sure…" She said. Jason looked up to the fire escapes above him, and went to grasp the metal bar of the ladder.

"I know you're not in costume, but you feel up to racing 'round rooftops? My safe house is nearby, but it's a bit of a work out."

And for the first time in a while Cass smiled a genuine smile "Bring it."


End file.
